The Search
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Set before Carry Me and after Doubter, Tumnus goes looking for Lucy
1. Chapter 1

The royal family had been gone for a whole year now, and for some reason most of Narnia and its people were able to live with this fact; living their lives as if nothing was the matter.

Tumnus frowned down slightly at his pack, and he took a few more cans of sardines and packed them away beside his supplies for making tea.

They had sent search parties out looking for the Pevensies for three months, but they had turned up nothing. Despite Tumnus' insistence that they keep looking for them, the Centaurs and most of the dogs had insisted just as hard and long that they were nowhere to be found, and that perhaps they had gone back to their own land where they had come from. Besides, Aslan had even warned them that the royal family may leave them some day, so what was the point of continuing to look for them?

Tumnus packed away a few more scarves, and he then nodded to himself, closing up his pack with a smile. Nodding to himself, he placed his hands on his hips and he looked around his cave one last time.

When Tumnus had told the son of the Beavers what he was going to do, he had laughed at him and told him that he was mad to even think of such a thing.

"We looked all over for them, Tumnus." He said calmly. "They're gone and you need to accept that."

But there was no way Tumnus was going to accept that Lucy was gone from him forever. Calmly he placed his pack over his shoulder and he stepped outside, shutting and locking the door to his small cave.

"We're ready, Mistah Tummy!"

Turning around, Tumnus smiled faintly at the three Animals who had agreed to come with him on his quest to find Lucy and her siblings. Mr. Fox and his son Brer were there, as well as a Badger who had been a Lord of Narnia when the royal family was still around.

"How long are we going to take looking for them, Tumnus?" the Badger asked, adjusting his pack slightly.

"For as long as it takes." Tumnus said. "We're not going to stop until we find them." The Badger cocked his head to one side slightly at this answer, but being a Badger, he nodded at this answer.

"Good. Then we haven't a moment to lose!" he said. "Come on."

"Ar' we goin' ta fin' dem taday, daddy?" Brer asked his father. Mr. Fox looked at Tumnus with somber eyes and he simply shrugged as Tumnus started to lead the way towards the Lamppost where he had first met Lucy.

"I can't say for sure, son." Mr. Fox said. "I can't say for sure."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's reaction to reviews: Wow guys! Thanks for all the nice reviews. This is going to be my first serial with Narnia, so be nice to me! Hehe

Oh and by the way; I have not seen the movie yet. I also happen to like foxes. And badgers? I got the badger from Prince Caspian. And if you stopped at "Mistah Tummy", how do you know how it ended? Think about it.

And yeah, I was hoping someone would discover the little joke with Mr. Fox's son. Thanks!

On with the story!

They traveled from Tumnus' cave to the Lamppost where they stopped for a moment. Tumnus looked around at the trees around the lamppost, and he sighed softly as he shook his head a bit.

"What are you looking for, Tumnus?" Badger asked, tilting his head to one side slightly. Tumnus looked around for a moment more before he sighed softly and shook his head.

"I'm trying to remember in what direction Lucy the Valiant first come from when she came here for the first time." He explained.

"Why ar' you doin' dat, Mistah Tummy?" Brer asked, tilting his head to one side, one of his oversized ears flopping over his eye.

"If he remembers than he can follow after her last old foot steps." Mr. Fox explained to his son, emphasizing the word old purposely. "If the royal family has indeed gone back to their own world, than perhaps we can find this entrance to War Drobe and Spare Oom. Although…these do sound more like wardrobe and spare room."

"A spare room and a wardrobe are not entrances to other worlds." Tumnus snapped with thinking. "And if you are so clever, why did you come then?" He regretted his harsh words after they were spoken, because Brer squeaked in fright and ran behind his father, using his tail to hide his face, his eyes peeking out between the fur.

Tumnus sighed softly, and he shook his head a bit.

"I am sorry for yelling, Brer." He said. Mr. Fox gently nudged his son with the tip of his nose, and Brer finally crept out from behind his tail, looking at Tumnus cautiously for a moment before he dashed over and raised his paws up to touch his knees.

"It's all right, Mistah Tummy." He said finally.

"I've found their trail." Looking up, the three of them saw Badger standing to the west, his nose still quivering as he sniffed in that direction. While they had been arguing and the like, he had been sniffing for any trace of the family. He had found one of one of Susan's favorite riding horses, so he guessed that that was where they had last gone. Still the trail was old, and if the dogs had not been able to find them, how were they supposed to find them?

"This is the last place they went I would guess." He said. "And perhaps it is the direction Lucy the Valiant came from as well, when she scared you into dropping your things." He added with a soft laugh.

"Scaredy cat!" Brer laughed, shaking his brush at Tumnus.

"I did not drop my things in fright!" Tumnus argued calmly, fixing his scarf a bit as he said it. "I never did that at all!"

The three Animals merely looked at him, and soon his cheeks were a blazing red color.

"Mistah Tummy is da same color as his scarf, daddy!" Brer laughed. Tumnus sighed softly, and he merely started to walk in the direction Badger had pointed out.

"We don't have time to waste." He said over his shoulder. "Come on."


	3. Chapter 3

Tumnus kept walking on, his head bowed slightly as he held his hands to his sides, slowly turning them into fists as the hours passed and they found nothing further. Badger snuffled around on the ground for the first day, and he was able to tell them that they were going the right way, but soon the trail vanished altogether on the third day, and he was unable to tell them for sure if they were going the right way.

Mr. Fox had tried to suggest that they forget the whole thing, and go back since there would be nothing to be gained in the end by looking further, but Tumnus kept going, ignoring the fact that Badger had shaken his head at him in disgust and sadness, and had bid a farewell to Mr. Fox and Brer before he turned around and headed back to his little den.

Mr. Fox had at first thought about taking his son and leaving, but he felt bad for Tumnus and he merely followed after him, his son trailing after him.

On the fifth day of their search, Brer started to whine that he was tired and bored of looking for something they were never going to find. At first, Tumnus ignored him, but as the little kit continued to complain, his nerves began to snap one by one, and soon enough he whirled around on the poor baby fox, his eyes narrowed in fury.

"WOULD YOU KEEP IT DOWN!" he shouted down at the little fox. "How am I to think and look with you crying like a little baby all of the time! If you are bored then just go home all ready! I am going to keep looking for Lucy with or without you, you lazy little big eared beast!"

As soon as the words left him, Tumnus regretted them, because all Brer could do was look up at him with wide eyes, his big floppy ears drooping down lower as they began to fill with tears, his throat starting to hitch as he got ready to burst into tears. Soon enough the little kit was sobbing badly, and for a moment Mr. Fox glared at the miserable Faun before he went to care for his son, gently stroking his head and ears to try and calm him down.

Tumnus opened his mouth for a moment, ready to say that he was sorry, but nothing came out, and he merely closed his mouth once more, shaking his head as he turned his back on the two, heading in the direction that he thought the royal family had gone in, feeling very miserable for what he had done.

A crow alighted on a branch on top of a tree that looked down on the sad scene, and it clucked softly to itself as it shook its head, watching as Mr. Fox gently stopped his son's tears, and led him back the way they came, stroking his head and ears the entire time they went.

With a soft caw, the crow took flight once more, and it followed after Tumnus.


	4. Chapter 4

Tumnus felt utterly miserable for what he had done an hour ago, and for a moment he paused and thought about going back to ask Brer to forgive him for yelling at him, but he thought about it and he shook his head, turning back and continuing his journey, telling himself that after he found the royal family and brought them back to Narnia, all would be well once more, and he could ask for forgiveness then of the Fox family for what he had done to little Brer so unjustly.

Overhead, the crow flew in the air, and it looked to the right, and if a crow or any good of bird could smile with a beak, this bird did as it made a dive at Tumnus, pecking his cheek and drawing blood as it flew away from him, causing him to stare after it in wonder, holding a hand to the blood on his cheek.

Tumnus blinked in confusion, and he slowly looked down at his hand, wondering why the bird had done such a thing to him. He did not remember ever having offended a crow in his life, and he knew for certain that if he had, he would have made offends before any of them would come after him like this.

"How odd." He said, wiping away the blood with a bit of his scarf, and he shrugged a bit, switching his pack to his other shoulder before he started off on his journey once more.

The crow on the other hand, smiled as it played with a drop of blood that had slipped between his beak on his tongue, and it laughed inwardly as it swooped down to the ground, landing on a rock where a group of men were sitting.

The men were of the Calormen kind, and were in fact a slaving party who had decided since the royal family was gone, to become bold and try to collect some goods to sell back home. All they had been able to capture however, were a few Horses at the moment, and they were talking about leaving with just these, when the crow loudly cleared its throat, and the leader turned and rested his hand on the hilt of his blade, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"And who is this?" he asked. "A spy for the barbarian Narnians perhaps?" The crow snickered softly, and shook his head, wiping the blood from its beak with a wing before it took flight once more, landing on the man's shoulder as if they were old friends of some kind.

"I am merely a crow who wishes to help you." He said calmly.

"And how can you help us then? By hopping into a cage and allowing us to sell you?"

"Talking Horses are all fine and good but what about a creature you could see off as a pet, or a rare kind of game one can buy and then let loose into the desert to hunt and kill at their own leisure?" the crow asked, tilting its head to one side.

"I am listening…what sort of creature is it?"

"The creature I speak of…is a Faun."


End file.
